In Russian, personal pronouns are words like “it” or “you” or “they” that are used to replace a noun in a sentence. The Russian personal pronouns are:
я transcribed yameaning I
ты transcribed tymeaning you
он transcribed onmeaning he
она transcribed anAmeaning she
оно transcribed aNOmeaning it
мы transcribed mymeaning we
вы transcribed vymeaning you
они transcribed aNEEmeaning they
As in English, the Russian personal pronoun you use will depend on the person, number, and gender of the noun you’re replacing. However, Russian personal pronouns also come in different cases, meaning they change their form depending on how they function in the sentence.
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In this post, we’ll take you through the rules about when to use each pronoun in Russian and go over the rules for how to put them in different forms. Ready to have a look? Let’s do it!
What are the Russian personal pronouns?
There are eight personal pronouns in Russian and there are three persons in Russian: first (to talk about the speaker), second (to talk about the person being addressed), and third (to talk about someone else).
| Number | Word | Translation | Person |
|---|---|---|---|
Singular | я transcribed ya | I | 1st |
ты transcribed ty / вы transcribed vy | you (informal / formal) | 2nd | |
он transcribed on | he; it | 3rd | |
она transcribed aNA | she; it | ||
оно transcribed aNO | it | ||
Plural | мы transcribed my | we | 1st |
вы transcribed vy | you | 2nd | |
они transcribed aNEE | they | 3rd |
Like in English, Russian personal pronouns are used to replace a noun or noun phrase, in order to avoid repetition. For example:
- Мите 10 лет. Он уже большой парень!Transcription: MEEtye DYEsyat lyet. On ooZHE balSHOY PAryen!Translation: Mitya is 10 years old. He is already a big guy!
- Где дети? - Они завтракают.Transcription: gdye DYEti? - aNEE ZAFtrakayut.Translation: Where are the children? - They are having breakfast.
When to use ты vs. вы?
The Russian pronouns ты transcribed ty and вы transcribed vy are both translated using the English pronoun as “you.” So what is the difference?
We use the pronoun вы transcribed vy in two cases:
to address a group of people (plural “you”)
in formal settings, to address one or more people (formal “you”)
The pronoun ты transcribed ty is used only to address one person you know really well. Someone like a friend, close relative, or a child.
Compare the use of the informal and formal “you”:
- Доченька, ты знаешь этого человека?Transcription: DOchinka, ty ZNAish Etava chilaVYEka?Translation: Baby daughter, do you know this person?
- Господин Смирнов, вы знаете этого человека?Transcription: gaspaDEEN smirNOF vy ZNAiti Etava chilaVYEka?Translation: Mr. Smirnov, do you know this person?
When to use он vs. она vs. оно in Russian?
Only third person personal pronouns in the singular form have a category of gender:
| Masculine | он transcribed on |
|---|---|
| Feminine | она transcribed aNA |
| Neuter | оно transcribed aNO |
It’s important to remember that, unlike in English, inanimate objects have a gender in Russian, so if you want to use a pronoun instead of a noun, you need to determine the gender of the noun first. For example:
| Noun | Gender | Pronoun |
|---|---|---|
дом transcribed dommeaning house | masculine | он transcribed onmeaning he |
мама transcribed MAmameaning mom | feminine | она transcribed aNAmeaning she |
машина transcribed maSHYnameaning car | feminine | она transcribed aNAmeaning she |
президент transcribed priziDYENTmeaning president | masculine / feminine | он/она transcribed on/aNAmeaning he/she |
яблоко transcribed YABlakameaning apple | neuter | оно transcribed aNOmeaning it |
время transcribed VRYEmyameaning time | neuter | оно transcribed aNOmeaning it |
The plural for all genders is они transcribed aNEEmeaning they.
Other tips for choosing the right Russian pronoun
There are a few more tips for choosing the right Russian personal pronoun, such as…
In Russian we usually say мы с вами transcribed my s VAmimeaning we with you or мы с другом transcribed my s DROOgammeaning we with a friend, instead of saying “you and I” or “my friend and I.”
This happens to all pronouns or nouns in the phrase “someone and I.” For example:
Мы с семьёй любим отдыхать на море.Transcription: my s simYOY LYUbim adyKHAT na MOrye.Translation: My family and I love to go to the seaside.Literally: We with family love to rest at the sea.Also, authors of scientific texts use мы transcribed my instead of я transcribed ya as a manifestation of modesty, and because historically individualism in Soviet times was not welcome. For instance:
Мы сказали в начале доклада…Transcription: My skaZAli v naCHAlye dakLAda…Translation: We said at the beginning of the report…Sometimes we use personal pronouns figuratively to express certain emotions, like sympathy or anger. For example:
Как у нас дела?Transcription: kak oo nas diLA?Translation: How are you doing?Literally: How are we doing?A doctor might ask a sick child this. The pronoun is the accusative form of мы transcribed mymeaning we instead of ты transcribed ty.Ты только на неё посмотри!Transcription: ty TOLka na niYO pasmaTREE!Translation: Just look at you!Literally: You only look at her!When addressing a woman directly, the use of “her” instead of “you” implies the woman is doing something wrong. The pronoun here is the accusative form of the pronoun она.
How to decline Russian personal pronouns?
Each Russian personal pronoun can take on a variety of different forms, depending on its case. The case indicates what role the noun or the pronoun that replaces the noun plays in the sentence, sort of like the difference between “she” and “her” in English.
The forms of personal pronouns are listed in all six cases below. Follow the links in the table to learn more about when you might want to use each case.
| display text(dictionary form) | Header | Header | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nominative (dictionary form) | я transcribed yameaning I | ты transcribed tymeaning you | он /оно transcribed on/aNOmeaning he/it | она transcribed aNAmeaning she | мы transcribed mymeaning we | вы transcribed vymeaning you | они transcribed aNEEmeaning they |
меня transcribed miNYA | тебя transcribed tiBYA | (н)его transcribed (n)iVO | (н)её transcribed (n)iYO | нас transcribed nas | вас transcribed vas | (н)их transcribed (n)ikh | |
мне transcribed mnye | тебе transcribed tiBYE | нём transcribed nyom | ней transcribed nyey | ||||
(н)ему transcribed (n)iMOO | (н)ей transcribed (n)yey | нам transcribed nam | вам transcribed vam | (н)им transcribed (n)im | |||
мной transcribed mnoy | тобой transcribed taBOY | (н)им transcribed (n)im | (н)ей transcribed (n)yey | нами transcribed NAmi | вами transcribed VAmi | (н)ими transcribed (n)Imi |
The pronouns он transcribed onmeaning he, она transcribed aNAmeaning she, and они transcribed aNEEmeaning they get the letter н transcribed n in the beginning of their forms in the genitive, accusative, dative, prepositional, and instrumental cases, only when they follow prepositions. For example:
- С ними всегда весело!Transcription: s NEEmi fsigDA VYEsila!Translation: It's always fun with them!
- Какой музей! В нём так интересно!Transcription: kaKOY mooZYEY! v nyom tak intiRYESna!Translation: What a museum! It's so interesting (to be in it)!
Summary
When using personal pronouns in Russian, keep in mind that we learned that…
In Russian there are eight personal pronouns: я transcribed yameaning I, ты transcribed tymeaning you, он transcribed onmeaning he, она transcribed anAmeaning she, оно transcribed aNOmeaning it, мы transcribed mymeaning we, вы transcribed vymeaning you, and они transcribed aNEEmeaning they.
ты transcribed ty → informal singular “you”
вы transcribed vy → plural “you” or formal singular “you”
Whether you use он transcribed onmeaning he, она transcribed anAmeaning she, оно transcribed aNOmeaning it depends on the grammatical gender of the noun you replace.
In Russian, we decline personal pronouns. You need to memorize all forms of personal pronouns in all six cases.
Now you’re ready to try out our Russian personal pronouns exercises! Good luck!
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